About this project

$52,876

pledged of $50,000 goal

465

backers

*** Thank you everyone! You can continue to support PLAYGROUND at playgroundproject.com ***

“PLAYGROUND exposes America’s dirty little secrets. It demonstrates that the sexual exploitation of children is big business and is driven by entrepreneurs trading on the lives of child victims...it is an important and timely film...”- Ernie Allen, President National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

Dear Community,

First up - THANK YOU!

Thank you for visiting our Kickstarter page and (hopefully!) supporting the completion and distribution of PLAYGROUND: THE CHILD SEX TRADE IN AMERICA. Without you, we won’t achieve our goal of finishing our film about the sex trafficking of children in North America. It's a grim reality but our film explores the unfortunate truth that hundreds of kids are lured, threatened, manipulated and traded for sex right here in our backyards. We hope you can help us get it out into the world!

So... how did this film come to be?

I was traveling in Indonesia and started filming stories of children being trafficked in the aftermath of the tsunami in 2006. Those stories crossed borders into Vietnam, Cambodia, Nepal and the Phillippines - and ultimately led me home. Through on-camera interviews and news footage, I learned that a notorious perpetrator in Cambodia had been victimizing children in his hometown in the north-west United States for years and flew back to learn more.

In Portland, Oregon, I picked up the trail of a missing 12-year old girl whose first encounter with sexual abuse began at age five. PLAYGROUND is my five-year search to find her and hear her story. Along the way, I learned from all the major players in the child sex trade, the fastest growing industry of organized crime.

The film is complete and ready to get out in front of audiences across America and around the world

BUTIN ORDER TO RELEASE & DISTRIBUTE IT, MY TEAM NEEDS $200,000. If you look at the box to the top right, you’ll notice that it says $50,000 - that’s because you and I know how Kickstarter works - it’s all or nothing and we are committed to making every penny you want to give count, so we aren’t risking the loss of even one.

Since the film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, I receive about a hundred emails every month from groups around the country and world—schools, churches, law enforcement departments, researchers —asking to view and screen this film. Now, we're looking for your help to get it out there.

I’m grateful that the film has received accolades, but truth be told I am more interested in getting the film into the hands of as many people as possible. Here’s what the Kickstarter funds will allow me to do:

1. Hire an editor to cut a 60 minute version of PLAYGROUND suitable for
high school students. Once the footage it is edited, we will make changes in the music and animation in post production This targeted distribution is something we’ve always
envisioned as a tool for empowering young people.

2. Design and packaging for the dvds and companion distribution materials for ALL audiences.

4. Pay legal fees, insurance and final clearances we need for distribution. When we make films like these, people get upset (someone took a hit out on me while I was in Thailand).

We can’t release the film until we’ve paid these fees, which is a terrible reason for it to gather dust on a shelf. We thought knowing this would make you as frustrated as it makes us since we want the film out in the world.

Right now, we are working on a plan that will help us release PLAYGROUND all over the country once we’ve paid for the completion and distribution of the film. To learn more about our goals and to support us, please visit playgroundproject.com

Much gratitude,Libby

VOICES FROM THE FILM:

“Children trafficked here from foreign countries are entitled to resources from the U.N., State Department and other groups such as legal representation, education and relocation assistance, that are not even close to available for American kids.”- Dr. Sharon Cooper, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

“We've got to somehow debrief that child [that has been trafficked] and get her to want to being a child again. Like you would take a soldier and debrief him and get him to the point where he's ready to go back in society after he's been out in the killing fields. You just can't come out of the war and just assume a normal life.”- Judge Sammy Jones, Chief Judge of the Fulton County Juvenile Court

Here are some of our vocal supporters:

“PLAYGROUND should be mandatory viewing for every parent and trained professional engaged in the war against child abuse.”- Jim Gamble, CEO of the Child Exploitation Center, UK12

"PLAYGROUND is the best film I’ve seen on the abuse and exploitation of children. In the tradition of our greatest protest art, it is both aesthetically sophisticated and politically committed. Nuanced and sensitive, it avoids the usual sensationalism surrounding this topic. This is the untold story of an American underworld."- Zoe Trodd, Professor of American Literature, Univ of Nottingham

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $500 or more
About $500

Wow! That's a hundred lattes and we are grateful. You get all of the above plus a limited edition print of original artwork by PLAYGROUND animator, Song Kim. (Donation tax-deductible) Int'l -> add ten bucks for shipping pls

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $2,000 or more
About $2,000

You deserve your own mascot - thank you! All of the above for you + a one of a kind Heather Heron 13 bag made especially for PLAYGROUND! (Donation tax-deductible) Int'l -> add ten bucks for shipping pls

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $5,000 or more
About $5,000

We are cryin tears of joy! All of the above for you + the Director will host a screening in your hometown - to keep us in budget, this won’t include travel or accommodation and we’ll need your help securing a venue. You are a VIP guest! (Donation tax-deductible) Int'l -> add ten bucks for shipping pls